Atlanta News Clip: Ed Sheeran Concert Review

With zero fanfare, Ed Sheeran strolled out onstage.

As he plowed into “Give Me Love,” his only accompaniments his acoustic guitar, a looping mic and pedal and a wall of speakers that doubled as projection screens, the British heartthrob was bombarded with a cascade of shrieking usually reserved for the high-cheekboned glamour of One Direction.

Yes, the ginger-headed singer-songwriter with the colorful sleeve tattoo, rumpled pants and T-shirt is quite the magnet for the high school and college set, his poetic valentines a soothing tonic in an era of AutoTune and unremarkable dance-pop.

Though he’s quietly built the kind of following that can sell out the Tabernacle on a recently launched headlining tour in the U.S. after just one hit (“The A Team”) – and, as he proved during his set at last month’s Star 94 Jingle Jamconcert in Gwinnett, hold 10,000 people rapt – Sheeran is unfazed by the commotion.

Gracious, yes. Charming, absolutely. But he’s steadfast in his commitment to stripped-down folk-pop, a one-man band capable of commanding a room with nothing onstage besides his instrument and a bottle of water.

As he plowed into “Give Me Love,” his only accompaniments his acoustic guitar, a looping mic and pedal and a wall of speakers that doubled as projection screens, the British heartthrob was bombarded with a cascade of shrieking usually reserved for the high-cheekboned glamour of One Direction.

Yes, the ginger-headed singer-songwriter with the colorful sleeve tattoo, rumpled pants and T-shirt is quite the magnet for the high school and college set, his poetic valentines a soothing tonic in an era of AutoTune and unremarkable dance-pop.

Though he’s quietly built the kind of following that can sell out the Tabernacle on a recently launched headlining tour in the U.S. after just one hit (“The A Team”) – and, as he proved during his set at last month’s Star 94 Jingle Jamconcert in Gwinnett, hold 10,000 people rapt – Sheeran is unfazed by the commotion.

Gracious, yes. Charming, absolutely. But he’s steadfast in his commitment to stripped-down folk-pop, a one-man band capable of commanding a room with nothing onstage besides his instrument and a bottle of water.